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Archive | October 2017

For many years now I’ve had the privilege of using luxury makeup, because I would receive them as gifts, training sessions and if companies sent us many testers over time I would give them to my colleagues and myself to try them out. How are you gonna know if their good products are not? But in the last few years, I’ve seen many changes but good ones to the makeup that is more affordable. So it got me thinking that maybe I should mix it up and start trying drugstore makeup.

Plus being on a budget helps to make my decision a lot easier to start mixing it up with high-end makeup and affordable makeup. Because we all know it can get expensive with makeup, especially when you’re a makeup junkie like me. Plus it would also be great to know what is out there in the drugstore brands that you can go too when you don’t want to spend a lot of money or you have that makeup emergency and you can’t get to your favorite store to get your $50.00 foundation or that $30.00 mascara. So here is my review on the L’oreal concealer.

L’oreal infallible pro glow concealer

So for my first drug mart makeup brand purchase I went with this concealer ‘cause my makeup forever concealer was running out. L’oreal has recently launched the whole pro series, targeting oily skin and normal to dry skin, at least that’s what it looks like. I do like that they are targeting certain skin types which gives me more choices.

This concealer goes for $12.99 retail value and what it supposed to do is give you a buildable and luminous coverage for up to 16 hours. It helps to highlight, sculpt, correct and conceal imperfections as well. All the while brightening your complexion to give you that awesome glow that we all deserve.

I have always been a L’oreal fan. My first product from them was the voluminous mascara which I still love to this day. So I did have some expectations that it would be decent enough concealer to use. After using the makeup forever high coverage concealer, I wasn’t expecting it to be like that because that is a totally different concealer from this L’oreal one.

Let me tell you I was pretty shocked at how this held up throughout the day. I used it under my eyes and dotted on to some of my acne spots and it did not crease at all under my eyes, which is usually my problem area. It did give me a nice natural, brighter look and the consistency was very fluid. It blended very nicely with my skin and foundation and after wearing it for 10 hours, it still did not crease under my eyes. But at the end of the day it look like it faded a little under the eye area.

This concealer gave me pretty good coverage. To me, you can build coverage to a medium coverage, but it is not a full coverage concealer. If you want that luminous and a nice glow, these types of concealers tend to be more fluid like consistency. I did tried to build up the coverage, but it did not look that much different from the first layer of the concealer but nonetheless it covered my dark circles and help brighten the eye area.

To me, this concealer was a hit. It’s easy to blend, covers up my dark circles and most importantly it does not crease in my fine lines. It doesn’t say if it’s for dry skin and normal skin or oily skin, but I have oily skin and it was fine for me. I would definitely recommend this concealer for anyone who is looking for a medium coverage and a concealer to brighten the skin.

I hope this article was helpful for you and I hope to be doing more drugstore makeup reviews for you. Until next week have a great day my beauties!

Do you use a serum in your routine? If you don’t why not? A serum can really be effective in conjunction with the rest of your skincare routine. But why? It’s just another thing to put on my face and my skin can’t handle all that moisture. I know how you feel, but if I had to choose I would pick a serum over a moisturizer. Here are a few benefits of using a serum.

It sinks into the skin deeper so it keeps your skin hydrated throughout the day batter

Oily skin can benefit from a serum because of how quickly it sinks in to the skin leaving no residue or feelings of heaviness on the skin

It has about 2 to 5 times more potency than the face cream. And using it in conjunction with cream, you can have a better results vs. Using no serum

A moisturizer or sunscreen usually sits on top of the skin so it isn’t moisturizing the skin all day causing skin to feel uncomfortable, tight and dehydrated. That’s why putting a serum under your moisturizer will help skin stay hydrated all day.

Wearing a sunscreen and being outside all day can leave your skin very thirsty. Drink your water, but also put on a serum before your sunscreen so you can keep your skin hydrated as much as possible. Plus again it is super light so you won’t feel it.

Clinique smart custom repair serum

I am not a fan of Clinique, but I have used a few of their skincare products. Unfortunately I had no success with them because they were either too heavy feeling, did not absorb well and it was too strong and irritating my skin. The only skincare product that was comfortable to use was there cleansing gel. So trying this all in one custom repair serum, I was going into this as a very skeptical person. Because of my history and plus a serum claiming it can do everything for your skin, you kind of want to try it and put it to the test.

The first thing about this serum is that the ingredients list is very long! This serum says it is suitable for sensitive skin, but just read the ingredient list to make sure you’re not allergic to any one of these ingredients. Because it is designed to handle all skin issues including acne scarring, uneven skin tone and wrinkles that’s why the ingredients list is super long. From licorice extract that reduces inflammation, vitamin C for dark spots, salicylic acid and glucosmine for brightening, palmitoyl oligopeptide to boost collagen and ultrsomes and roxisome for UV damage. Throw in some hyaluronic acid and you have a hydrating serum to go.

So far it has only been three weeks and I have no problem with the serum so far. My skin feels hydrated, feels soft and my skin doesn’t feel tight or uncomfortable. I haven’t seen much of a difference in my skin as far as it being brighter or more even, but that hopefully will come in time and with the weather changing I tend to break out a bit more then usual. But it hasn’t caused any more issues, so that is a good thing for me.

It’s hard going back to the skincare company that you’ve used some products from them and you haven’t had a good experience. So being open minded can be tough when you come across a product that seems so irresistible that you need to try it. Don’t let a bad experience stop you, you may never know if that’s the product that will change your skin or even your mind towards that brand. Maybe this is the product that will change my mind towards Clinique, but only time will tell. Until next week, thank you for reading this article and I’ll see you next week my beauties!

I admit, I don’t do my nails at all. Just clip them, file them and use hand cream and that is the extent of my nail care. I don’t remember the last time I went to a salon to get a manicure and pedicure done, that’s how long I’ve had my nails painted. So when I received these cool nail vinyls courtesy of nailpoloishcanada.com I was excited to do something different with nails. And it’s Halloween themed so it’s even more fun to do.

I’ve never used vinyls or stickers of any kind on my nails and that’s why I got curious wondering if these would be easy to use. I was a bit concerned about how it would turn out or if it would fit my small fingers (I have a size three ring finger) but I figured out you can cut it to your nail and that’s what I did for some. Here are my results on these graveyard vinyls.

What’s up vinyls for nails

First of all I have to say that this process was fun and cool. I did play with a few different looks before I chose to do the ombre effect. I used tweezers to take the sticker or stencil and peeled it off to avoid ripping it and carefully placed it on my freshly painted nails. I then painted the stenciled part with black nail polish to show the graveyard on my nails and while it is still wet slowly and gently pull off the stencil with tweezers and you have your design.

So was this easy or not? Again I said before that I don’t do my nails and as a beginner I was truly amazed at how easy these vinyls were to use. The only hard part was me trying to get the ombre look on my nails, but that was my choice and I was excited to do my nails in a different way.

So because I was chosen to do this for nailpolishcanada.com they gave me a code to my first 10 readers to get these graveyard vinyls for free. If you choose to get them here is the code and the link and they will show you step by step how to receive them. (Now sold out)

I just recently got a few essentials for my skincare routine including an eye serum. The great thing about this serum is that it contains retinol which is great for ant aging. I love using eye creams because it helps to protect and moisturize the eye area, plus the skin around the eye area that is thinner than the rest of your face, so you want to make sure you buy the right eye cream to address your needs and concerns.

I personally haven’t use retinol since I was in college and I used it for my acne. It was a topical cream that contained 1% pure retinol and boy did I see a change in my skin. It cleared my skin of acne by smoothing my skin, making my pores look smaller and help with my acne scars and spots. That is what retinol is used for usually but now it is widely used for wrinkles as well.

Now many years later, I am using retinol again but this time an eye cream and I hope that I’ll get the same results as I did years ago. Or am I asking too much of my eye cream? Here is my review and description of this eye cream.

Neostrata all in one eye serum with 0.075% retinol

This as an eye serum which sinks into your skin quickly and serums tend to be 3 to 5 times more effective. You can pair it up with an eye cream if you need to moisturize the eye area because if you have dry skin the eye serum will not be enough. I have oily skin so it’s perfect for me.

The most effective ingredient in this product is the 0.075% retinol which is great for the eye area and also safe enough for the skin around the eye area. It is supposedly safe for sensitive skin, but for me I had to build up a tolerance for this eye serum because it was making my under eye area feel tingling and a burning sensation. I can wear it in the daytime now but every now and then I still feel some tingling, but I’ve only been using it for a couple weeks now.

Right now as far as I can tell it’s taking some time too get used to the product. Again this is my first time in many years using retinol on my face. So if your first time users of using retinol you will experience tingling, burning sensation maybe even a little irritation around the eye. Try to build your tolerance to it by using it only at night time or every other night or what ever is comfortable for you.

You must wear sunscreen because in order to get the best results like glowing skin sunscreen will at least protect your skin and help with the results you want to get from your creams. Plus retinol is fairly strong and may cause sensitivity so wear the SUNSCREEN!

Thank you for reading my post and I’ll see you nextweek. Have a good day my beauties!

What do you do when you are given a cleansing device that supposedly cleanses your skin six times better than your hands? What’s wrong with using my hands? I mean I’ve used them this long? So what’s so special about this cleansing device? That’s when me being open minded came in handy and I’d just dove right in.

So not only does it deep clean your skin, you will use less cleanser and your face treatments such as your serum and moisturizer will work better to give you that beautiful, glowing skin that you always wanted. Well do you think it worked? Did I get those results that I’ve longed for and have been chasing for many years? Well read on to find out more about the cleansing devise that I awkwardly started using many years ago.

Clarisonic Mia two cleansing device

3-4 years ago when I received the clarisonic cleansing devise they only carried three devices at the time. It was only sold in Sephora and now in shoppers. Now they have many types of cleansing devices to choose from as well as a makeup brush and also many brush heads to choose from.

The one I currently have is the Mia two which has two speeds. First speed is gentle and the second speed is a bit more vigorous for cleansing. I honestly thought it would slow down my cleansing routine but I am happy to say that I actually enjoy washing my face now.

Weird right? I mean it’s only adding to your cleansing routine, what is so different about this device? Well it only takes a minut

e and at each part of the face there are a certain amount of seconds before it vibrates to let you know to move on to another part of a face. The rule of thumb is 20 seconds on the forehead, 10 seconds on each side of the face which are your cheeks and 20 seconds for the T zone area. Plus it will accept any type of cleanser whether it’s a creamy or gel type, it ensures that you get the best results possible.

It’s definitely results I have gotten from this device. My black heads have been reduced, my pores are definitely smaller and overall my skin is more uniform. I seriously cannot wait to wash my face because I know it will help to brighten and also helps with my breakouts when I have them.

I have personally seen a difference in my skin. When I first received this device I did cleanse my skin with it twice a day. Now I just use it once a day when it’s colder and twice a day during the warmer season or when my skin is breaking out or looking a little dull or tired.

My choice of brush heads have also varied over the years. So far I have used the one for acne prone skin, normal skin and my current one, the radiance brush head has been my current favorite one for the last couple years.

Now there are many different cleansing devices out there. Just be sure to do your research on these devices as they are not that cheap! Find one that is right for you and get cleansing. Have a good day my beauties!